Maharashtra now favours a natural gas grid of its own

TNNNov 8, 2006, 02.55am IST

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is now exploring the possibility of putting in place its own gas grid across the state. Maharashtra Industrial Gas Transmission Company (MIGTCL) has already received proposals from Reliance, GAIL and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) in this regard, a meeting chaired by state CM Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday was informed.

The state government plans to float an SPV which, in turn, would strike agreements with private or public sector companies for the gas supply.

The state government's move comes at a time when a Bill to appoint a regulator for the petroleum sector is expected to be tabled in Parliament's forthcoming session. "Once the mechanism is in place, Maharashtra will be the first to reap the benefits of it," a government official said. Keeping this in mind, the government has sought the Centre's nod.

Mr Deshmukh had convened the meet to discuss the final report of the state-level advisory committee on natural gas. Considering the rising gap between demand and supply of natural gas, the meeting on Monday decided to expedite the process to set up the state's exclusive gas distribution network. Initially, the proposed grid would cater only to over 250 industrial parks in the state.

Maharashtra is badly in need of natural gas to feed its large industrial base and the power sector. According to a study conducted by the Gas Authority of India (GAIL), the state currently receives 8-9 MMCMD (metric million cubic metre per day) of gas against its requirement of 50 MMCMD.

The chief minister was all for making gas available to all regions of the state to attract investment. The government, he said, would take up the issue with Reliance which is laying gas pipeline from Godavari basin in Andhra Pradesh to Hazira in Gujarat.

"Major portion of the pipeline passes through Maharashtra. We will request RIL to supply gas for local needs," the chief minister said.